Rattlesnakes

[Widder, SASS #59054]

He/she looks (and acts) like a black rat snake.

 

And he/she is irritated because you have interrupted his/her biological weather clock.

They sorta hybernate in cold weather and take a long winter nap.   He/she was quite comfortable

in your basement for the winter and would have vacated the premises when warmer weather

woke up his/her biological weather clock..... assuming you don't have any mice in your basement.

 

..........Widder

 

[Painted Mohawk SASS 77785]

3 hours ago, Boomstick Bruce said:

This has got to be the most p.o'.d snake I've ever had! This guy is wanting to kill me ALL. THE. TIME! 

 

We found him in the basement about 3 months ago. It was too cold and snowy to evict him and expect him to live. I'm going to be releasing him back where he belongs at the end of April when it warms up.

Are you saying your going to let it hang around  untill  the end of April & then release him..dang you's braver than I ..or have you captured & contained the snake ?

[Pat Riot]

5 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

He/she looks (and acts) like a black rat snake.

 

And he/she is irritated because you have interrupted his/her biological weather clock.

They sorta hybernate in cold weather and take a long winter nap.   He/she was quite comfortable

in your basement for the winter and would have vacated the premises when warmer weather

woke up his/her biological weather clock..... assuming you don't have any mice in your basement.

 

..........Widder

 

 

You know, I do believe you’re right. At first I thought it was a copperhead. 

[Sedalia Dave]

3 hours ago, Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 said:

Are you saying your going to let it hang around  untill  the end of April & then release him..dang you's braver than I ..or have you captured & contained the snake ?

 

Rat Snakes, King Snakes, Gopher Snakes, and Black Snakes are non-poisonous and beneficial to have around your property. In addition to controlling the rodent population they will kill and eat Copper Heads and Rattle Snakes.

[Pat Riot]

28 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

Rat Snakes, King Snakes, Gopher Snakes, and Black Snakes are non-poisonous and beneficial to have around your property. In addition to controlling the rodent population they will kill and eat Copper Heads and Rattle Snakes.

Yep. I am not one to harm snakes. I even let poisonous snakes alone if they aren’t posing a threat to others. Water moccasins are another story but I don’t have to worry about them here.

 

[Boomstick Bruce]

We grow strawberries in the summer on our back deck. We cover them in plastic netting to keep the birds from eating them. We store said netting in the basement in the winter. I found this guy on the floor by my workbench with some of that netting embedded deep into his skin. It took me a while to cut it all out of him. He was so weak and sickly, we didn't think he would make it.

 

After a while he got better and discovered he was strong enough to open the aquarium and got out. Didn't see him again for about 2 months until I was downstairs working on that knife gun '58 Remington I made and my cat found Mr snake under the soft top for my Jeep. Needless to say, he is feeling much better now and is way more active! Poor kitty got bit several times as did I.

 

And yes he is a black snake. I know this for a fact since the several holes he had put in me since I caught him this second time around, haven't killed me...lol... If you listen to the video you can hear him mimicking a rattler. It's kind of unnerving even though I know he's mostly harmless. Although, snakebites, no matter how small the snake is, bleed like crazy!

 

 

[Michigan Slim]

We get a lot of blue racers, hognose, garters and water snakes at our cabin. Racers get uppity and turn the tables on you if you mess too much. They even twitch their tales in the leaves to sound just like a rattler. Freaked my boy out bigtime. The hognose put on a good show too. Flatten their heads and hiss like crazy. The garters are harmless. The water snakes don't take much to get them to come at you and the bite really hurts. The massaugas we don't see too often but it's cool when we do. They don't get very big. 2' maybe.

[Grass Range]

10 hours ago, Boomstick Bruce said:

This has got to be the most p.o'.d snake I've ever had! This guy is wanting to kill me ALL. THE. TIME! 

 

We found him in the basement about 3 months ago. It was too cold and snowy to evict him and expect him to live. I'm going to be releasing him back where he belongs at the end of April when it warms up.

You want him to live?

[Grass Range]

12 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

 

 

It ain't that I believe you or not, but how did you get the horse to stand still long enough to allow you to take aim with the lariat?

And believing you or not ain't my problem..... its the snakes problem.  

 

..........Widder

 

The more you do whatever with your lariat when on the horse the better he will behave when you have to drop a loop on a critter. My favorite thing to do was to while just riding along throw a loop and catch a sagebrush. 3 things happen that will get your horses attention: when the slack tightens up (after a couple wraps), when the sage brush comes out of the ground with a loud pop and when it flies through the air up past the horses head. Be ready for anything.

[Dantankerous]

12 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

 

 

It ain't that I believe you or not, but how did you get the horse to stand still long enough to allow you to take aim with the lariat?

And believing you or not ain't my problem..... its the snakes problem.  

 

..........Widder

 

 

I imagine it's just like roping off a horse. I used to have a horse who'd stand perfectly still for me while I swung a rope over his head practicing  my roping skills on fence posts. He didn't seem to care what I did from my saddle.  If I could have figured out a way to do it I probably could of played march music from a sousaphone while sitting on that horse. 

 

 

[Grass Range]

20 hours ago, Double Barrel, SASS 34765 said:

The one in TN Williams picture would grab the lariat and jerk you off the horse. 

Probably

[Widder, SASS #59054]

1 hour ago, Grass Range said:

The more you do whatever with your lariat when on the horse the better he will behave when you have to drop a loop on a critter. My favorite thing to do was to while just riding along throw a loop and catch a sagebrush. 3 things happen that will get your horses attention: when the slack tightens up (after a couple wraps), when the sage brush comes out of the ground with a loud pop and when it flies through the air up past the horses head. Be ready for anything.

 

1 hour ago, Dantankerous said:

 

I imagine it's just like roping off a horse. I used to have a horse who'd stand perfectly still for me while I swung a rope over his head practicing  my roping skills on fence posts. He didn't seem to care what I did from my saddle.  If I could have figured out a way to do it I probably could of played march music from a sousaphone while sitting on that horse. 

 

 

 

I understand things about the horse and it standing still or non-reactive to popping the lariat or roping.

 

What I was referring to is how do you get the horse to stand still with a live SNAKE in its path?

Do you train the horse to stop and stand still with a big rattler a couple feet away so you can

react with a deadeye lariat aim?

Or, stand still while practicing lasso techniques while a big rattler sings "2-bits for a Kiss" a few feet away.

   

Thats what I was curious about.

 

Have a great day.

 

..........Widder

 

 

 

[Dantankerous]

20 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

 

 

I understand things about the horse and it standing still or non-reactive to popping the lariat or roping.

 

What I was referring to is how do you get the horse to stand still with a live SNAKE in its path?

Do you train the horse to stop and stand still with a big rattler a couple feet away so you can

react with a deadeye lariat aim?

Or, stand still while practicing lasso techniques while a big rattler sings "2-bits for a Kiss" a few feet away.

   

Thats what I was curious about.

 

Have a great day.

 

..........Widder

 

 

 

 

Yes, I understand now.  Your question makes perfect sense. My problem was I didn't have enough coffee before answered. Durn night shift...

 

Where I grew up we did not have a problem with snakes like are being discussed. But I imagine a horse, like pretty much every other warm blooded critter with possibly the exception of the mongoose or honey badger likes to move the other way as fast as possible at the warning sound a rattlesnake warning gives. I see your point exactly.

 

[Pat Riot]

3 hours ago, Boomstick Bruce said:

We grow strawberries in the summer on our back deck. We cover them in plastic netting to keep the birds from eating them. We store said netting in the basement in the winter. I found this guy on the floor by my workbench with some of that netting embedded deep into his skin. It took me a while to cut it all out of him. He was so weak and sickly, we didn't think he would make it.

 

After a while he got better and discovered he was strong enough to open the aquarium and got out. Didn't see him again for about 2 months until I was downstairs working on that knife gun '58 Remington I made and my cat found Mr snake under the soft top for my Jeep. Needless to say, he is feeling much better now and is way more active! Poor kitty got bit several times as did I.

 

And yes he is a black snake. I know this for a fact since the several holes he had put in me since I caught him this second time around, haven't killed me...lol... If you listen to the video you can hear him mimicking a rattler. It's kind of unnerving even though I know he's mostly harmless. Although, snakebites, no matter how small the snake is, bleed like crazy!

 

 

Boomstick,

Years ago in Pennsylvania it was discovered that copperheads were mating with black snakes. This shouldn't happen as they are natural enemies but it was happening. I know because a I caught one and took it to the Science Dept at Waynesburg College and they verified that it was in fact a black snake copperhead hybrid. Be careful fooling with aggressive snakes, my friend.

 

Holy crap...I just realized that was 50 years ago...I was 8 years old wrangling snakes back then.

[Dantankerous]

2 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Boomstick,

Years ago in Pennsylvania it was discovered that copperheads were mating with black snakes. This shouldn't happen as they are natural enemies but it was happening....

 

 Along the same topic, it seems like I recently read where in the Florida Everglades or someplace similar, an environment that has been inundated by pythons people used to own but have discarded once they got too large, that the largest of the python snake breed is now mating with the most aggressive of the python species. That sounds like a new horror movie in the making.

[Noz]

On 3/25/2019 at 10:15 PM, Tennessee williams said:

Here is a little 74"er from my front yard. Fyi, they are getting to where they dont rattle at all. Let those black snakes be. They eat Rattlers.

LUNCH!!

[Dantankerous]

5 minutes ago, Noz said:

LUNCH!!

 

 Where do you find a bun long enough for that?

[Tennessee williams]

1 minute ago, Noz said:

LUNCH!!

...and supper and breakfast! 

Actually something stole the meat in the 20 minutes I was gone to get the glycerin and alcohol to tan the hide. Made me mad to lose that much meat.

[Pat Riot]

35 minutes ago, Tennessee williams said:

...and supper and breakfast! 

Actually something stole the meat in the 20 minutes I was gone to get the glycerin and alcohol to tan the hide. Made me mad to lose that much meat.

Python took it...

[Sedalia Dave]

3 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Python took it...

 

I bet it was Widder.

[Grass Range]

4 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

 

 

I understand things about the horse and it standing still or non-reactive to popping the lariat or roping.

 

What I was referring to is how do you get the horse to stand still with a live SNAKE in its path?

Do you train the horse to stop and stand still with a big rattler a couple feet away so you can

react with a deadeye lariat aim?

Or, stand still while practicing lasso techniques while a big rattler sings "2-bits for a Kiss" a few feet away.

   

Thats what I was curious about.

 

Have a great day.

 

..........Widder

 

 

 

I have seen many westerns (so called) where horses have reared up at the site or sound of a rattler and usually the girl falls off. I have never in 70 years seen a horse shy or jump or rear because a rattler is close. Once when my brother and I were very little we rode bareback into the horse pasture which is only 40 acres on a gentle horse to bring in the others when we came on a rattler. We rode the horse back and forth over that one until it was dead from the hooves stepping on it. Never once did she shy or care what she was doing.

[Tennessee williams]

1 hour ago, Grass Range said:

I have seen many westerns (so called) where horses have reared up at the site or sound of a rattler and usually the girl falls off. I have never in 70 years seen a horse shy or jump or rear because a rattler is close. Once when my brother and I were very little we rode bareback into the horse pasture which is only 40 acres on a gentle horse to bring in the others when we came on a rattler. We rode the horse back and forth over that one until it was dead from the hooves stepping on it. Never once did she shy or care what she was doing.

I had a hardheaded horse once too.

 

My sister used to train walking horses. They wouldn't get within 100 yards of any kind of snake. Matter of fact, she had me stay away from places we had killed them cause they got skittish and you dont want one to run. I dont think it is uncommon because I killed a rattler in the driveway last spring. My dogs made a wide loop around where I killed it until winter.

[Ramblin Gambler]

I vacationed at a dude ranch once when I was young.  The wranglers there told how they'd kill rattlesnakes on trail rides with a lariat like Grass Range said.  I didn't get to see it, but I saw plenty of snakeskins being dried.  As I recall, they said they had to be quick and get them before the horses saw them. 

[Grass Range]

2 minutes ago, Tennessee williams said:

I had a hardheaded horse once too.

 

My sister used to train walking horses. They wouldn't get within 100 yards of any kind of snake. Matter of fact, she had me stay away from places we had killed them cause they got skittish and you dont want one to run. I dont think it is uncommon because I killed a rattler in the driveway last spring. My dogs made a wide loop around where I killed it until winter.

She was not hard headed, just gentle and well broke

[Red Eye Jim]

Texas Rattlesnake?

 

[Tennessee williams]

1 minute ago, Grass Range said:

She was not hard headed, just gentle and well broke

I don't call a feller a liar or talk about his horse or dog. Don't think that I was.

 

I was referencing that old joke about the man that said his farm was so big it took all day to drive across it. Other fella said he had a truck that run like that once.

[Grass Range]

Yep

[Tall Tale Todd]

On 3/27/2019 at 8:48 AM, Dantankerous said:

 

 Along the same topic, it seems like I recently read where in the Florida Everglades or someplace similar, an environment that has been inundated by pythons people used to own but have discarded once they got too large, that the largest of the python snake breed is now mating with the most aggressive of the python species. That sounds like a new horror movie in the making.

 

I saw the documentary on that a couple years ago about the Burmese Python mating with the African Rock Python, appropriately named, Man Eating Super Snake. 

[J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE]

On 3/27/2019 at 10:43 AM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Boomstick,

Years ago in Pennsylvania it was discovered that copperheads were mating with black snakes. This shouldn't happen as they are natural enemies but it was happening. I know because a I caught one and took it to the Science Dept at Waynesburg College and they verified that it was in fact a black snake copperhead hybrid. Be careful fooling with aggressive snakes, my friend.

 

Holy crap...I just realized that was 50 years ago...I was 8 years old wrangling snakes back then.

 

https://herpunit.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/omg-hybrids/

 

It does appear that copperheads and cottonmouths can breed a hybrid species, but mostly in captivity.

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

On 3/27/2019 at 7:34 AM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Yep. I am not one to harm snakes. I even let poisonous snakes alone if they aren’t posing a threat to others. Water moccasins are another story but I don’t have to worry about them here.

 

Anybody that tries to do anything with a water moccasin but kill it is just looking for heartache. 

 

They ain't as aggressive as some of the snakes down PM's way in Oz, but they ain't something to screw around with either.